Our Way ||| Ateez

1

"Avayla! Lunch is ready!" Yunho called out from the house. He heard the girl's high pitched squeal as she came running out of the trees.

She had inherited Mingi's smile, so wide and full of joy, but her long platinum blonde hair and blue eyes belonged solely to Seonghwa. And she was the light of the household.

Behind her came Theo. He too had inherited his father's smile and slightly puffy cheeks, but he got his mom's messy mop of brown hair.

Theo was clapping his hands as he ran behind Avayla and both of them started giggling. When she realized she was getting a little too far ahead, she paused and held out her hand, which he took gladly.

"Uncle Yunho! We're coming!" She called out, pulling Theo behind her. The boy beamed when he saw his mom and ran straight into Yunho's awaiting arms.

"There's my boy." He cooed, rubbing his nose against Theo's. His baby laughed and patted the side of Yunho's face. It was his way of saying hello to whoever picked him up.

Avayla squirmed at his side and Yunho knelt down next to her again. "What have you two been up to?"

"We built a secret playhouse! Didn't we Theo?" She pointed back at the woods and Theo nodded several times, then made a jabbing motion with his hand. "That's right! We found our own special swords and are training to be guards so we can help protect the house!"

"Is that right?" Yunho asked. Theo reached for Avayla and Yunho set them down so they could run inside.

It melted his heart when he saw the two of them interacting. Avayla had turned into Theo's protector the moment she was old enough to recognize that he was different than her and needed that extra help. But she never judged him. That was the nice thing about them only being two months apart, they grew up already accepting who the other was.

She was able to communicate with him in ways that no one else could, too. Maria had tried to help them teach Theo sign language, like the humans used, but he never really showed any interest in it. He had managed to find a way to communicate all on his own, most of it being through tapping and pointing, but Avayla could understand him as if they had their own special link.

While she was starting to show signs of forming the pack bond, Theo hadn't quite gotten there yet. And really, Avayla only picked up on a word or two when the pack link was used.

Everyone was convinced she was going to be an alpha like Mingi, mostly because of how she was with Theo. And because of this relationship, they were thinking Theo was going to be a beta. But there was still some before they would know for sure.

Pups would show signs of their rank anywhere between five and eight years. Theo was five years and eight months now, making Avayla five years and ten months old.

They had grown up so fast.

Yunho could hear them giggling inside and took a moment to look out into the trees. It was the one moment of the day that he allowed himself to be sad.

He kept hoping that any day now Wooyoung and San would come marching up to the house in a triumphant return.

They had left just over five years ago to try and find a cure for Wooyoung's illness, but they had promised they would only be gone for five years.

They were late.

Granted it was only about two months, but that didn't stop Yunho's mind from wandering. What if something had happened to them? What if they had decided not to come back?

The beta shook his head and took a deep breath, pushing his fears and worries behind him. He missed his best friend so much. He understood why they had left, but that didn't stop it from hurting... He couldn't dwell on it, though. So he shook his head again and turned his back to the forest. The moment was over.